Science of Rhetorical Figures (Ilm al-Bayan)

Ilm al-Bayan is one of the three main branches of Arabic rhetoric (maʿani, bayan, badiʿ). It is defined as the principles and rules by which a single meaning is expressed through different forms that vary in the clarity of their indication of that meaning. These forms are the three main rhetorical devices studied in bayan: simile (tashbih), figurative usage (majaz) in its types, and metonymy (kinayah). The course introduces bayan, its concepts and terminology, and trains learners to identify and use these rhetorical devices in Arabic texts and in their own writing, both prose and poetry.